It can happen in a second. Just one wrong click of your mouse and you have an unwanted new home page or toolbar, a multitude of pop-up ads, strange desktop icons or all of the above.
If this sounds familiar, your computer is probably the victim of adware or spyware, or both. Adware is software that tracks your surfing habits and generates pop-up ads. Spyware, the more dangerous of the two, covertly records your keystrokes, surfing habits, passwords, credit card numbers, e-mail addresses and other confidential information through your Internet connection, and reports them back to advertisers.
If this sounds familiar, your computer is probably the victim of adware or spyware, or both. Adware is software that tracks your surfing habits and generates pop-up ads. Spyware, the more dangerous of the two, covertly records your keystrokes, surfing habits, passwords, credit card numbers, e-mail addresses and other confidential information through your Internet connection, and reports them back to advertisers.
Uncover where the unwanted programs came fromThere are several ways you can become the recipient of unsolicited information or material. Sometimes web sites will throw you to other undesirable sites. Even a simple keyword search in your search engine could turn up links to inappropriate content. Clicking one of these sites by accident could infect your computer.
Other mistakes people make are innocently clicking the Yes button when a web site asks you to install software before viewing a page or when a pop-up window asks you to make a certain URL your home page.
Some web sites use a pop-up window that issues a “security alert” on your computer and prompts you to download a program to “fix” the problem. By clicking on that button, you could install spyware on your computer. In addition, inexperienced web users, such as children playing an online game, could be enticed by the language that advertises a product and click a link or button on a pop-up window. Some shareware and freeware programs are bundled with adware and spyware. Freeware refers to programs that you use at no cost; shareware refers to programs you try for free and, if you like them, pay a small fee to continue use after your trial period expires. Examples include file-sharing programs, antivirus software, FTP clients, firewalls, games and others. Of course, not all of these programs will install junk on your computer.
Other mistakes people make are innocently clicking the Yes button when a web site asks you to install software before viewing a page or when a pop-up window asks you to make a certain URL your home page.
Some web sites use a pop-up window that issues a “security alert” on your computer and prompts you to download a program to “fix” the problem. By clicking on that button, you could install spyware on your computer. In addition, inexperienced web users, such as children playing an online game, could be enticed by the language that advertises a product and click a link or button on a pop-up window. Some shareware and freeware programs are bundled with adware and spyware. Freeware refers to programs that you use at no cost; shareware refers to programs you try for free and, if you like them, pay a small fee to continue use after your trial period expires. Examples include file-sharing programs, antivirus software, FTP clients, firewalls, games and others. Of course, not all of these programs will install junk on your computer.
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